[Patient dose calculation software in nuclear medicine]

ABSTRACT

Radioactive materials deliver internal radiation dose to patients in nuclear medicine. Manual internal radiation dose assessment is a complicated method. Introduction of a simple dose calculation software is the main goal of the present study. Using the best current data in internal dose calculation [S-Factors] recommended by ICRP and by considering other technical methods in Medical Internal Radiation Dosimetry [MIRD], a software was designed using Visual Basic language to calculate the total body, Gonadal as well as the fetal dose in case of pregnancy. The software is PC based and operates under windows 98, Me and XP operating systems. Patient information such as name, age and injected activity [mCi] should be entered into the system. The current software considers Tc-99m for the calculations at present time, but it is also possible to consider other radiopharmaceuticals in the software in future. After defining the source organ, the total body effective dose as well as gonadal and fetus doses can be calculated in a printable manner. This user friendly software can easily and accurately calculate the internal dose. In contrast to available commercial softwares, it can be upgraded by local experts, but MIRD method limitation should also be considered